Fool For Love

Buffy is fighting a vampire in the graveyard. It would be interesting to do a survey of Buffy episodes and see how many start out this way. I would wager at least 40%. Anyways, she appears to be doing well, when all of a sudden, he manages to stab her in the stomach with her own stake. Buffy tries to run away, but the vampire is faster than her. Riley shows up and zaps it with a stun gun, but it gets away while he is helping Buffy.

Back at Buffy's house, Riley bandages her wound. Buffy decided to hide her injury from her mother, and claims that she will heal quickly because of her superpowers. Riley offers to patrol for her, until she gets well.

Back at the graveyard, Riley and the gang are patrolling. Riley is trying to be all sneaky and commando-guy, but Willow and Xander are eating potato chips and being loud.

At the magic shop, Buffy is digging through Giles' watcher logs, trying to find out how previous Slayers died. Giles explains that there aren't many details, since the Slayer was usually too dead to talk about it much. Buffy goes off to ask Spike, since he has killed two Slayers in the past. Buffy and Spike go to the Bronze. It turns out he killed one Slayer in China, and one in New York. (See, here's something I've always wondered about. While Buffy is busy slaying in California, who's keeping the vampires in line in, say... East India? Are there no vampires there? What's up?)

There is a flashback to Spike, pre-vamping. He is a particularly prissypoet in London, circa 1880. He is busy composing hideous verses about a woman, Cecily, who scorns him mercilessly. He runs off, sobbing, and encounters Drusilla, who babbles incoherently and then vamps him.

Back at the graveyard, Riley and the gang find a nest of vampires, and leave, ostensibly to come back and get them in the morning, when they are dormant.

In 1880, Spike has joined Angel's gang, and is apparently pissing Angel off to no end. In the midst of an argument, Angel tells Spike that eventually, the Slayer will get him. Spike is intrigued, and finds himself obsessed with finding the Slayer. In 1900, Spike is fighting a Chinese Slayer. He overpowers and kills her.

Riley sneaks back into the graveyard and explodes the vampire nest with a grenade.

Spike tells Buffy about his second Slayer, in New York City, 1977. He killed her on a subway car. He describes the fight with the Slayer as a "dance" that never ends. Spike claims that every Slayer has a death wish, and that one day, Buffy will simply give up. He didn't kill the Slayers because he was stronger than they were. They simply lost the will to live.

Buffy gets angry and tells Spike to leave. They begin fighting again, when suddenly he leans in to kiss her. Buffy is shocked and stops him. She storms off, after telling Spike that he is "beneath her".

Spike goes off to his lair and grabs a shotgun. When he reaches Buffy's house, she is sitting outside, crying. Apparently, Buffy's mom has to go back to the hospital for more tests. Spike intends to kill her, but changes his mind. He sits down and tries to comfort her.